


bittersweet synchrony

by orphan_account



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Cuddling & Snuggling, Established Relationship, F/F, Human AU, Hurt/Comfort, Kinda, Menstruation, Polyamory, Sickfic, established poly relationship, polygems - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-25
Updated: 2020-08-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:08:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,285
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26101693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl discover new drawbacks and benefits to living together as a poly triad.
Relationships: Amethyst/Garnet/Pearl (Steven Universe)
Kudos: 38





	bittersweet synchrony

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [bad moon rising](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24934411) by [orphan_account](https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account). 



“I can’t _believe_ you!”

“Will you get off my back!”

“Oh please, I’m not the one who - “

“Give it up, you two,” Garnet groans as she enters the apartment with her girlfriends trailing behind her, mid-argument.

She’s had it up to here with them sniping at each other. Some petty comment of Pearl’s had set Amethyst off while Garnet drove them home (it was her day to carpool the three of them between Pearl’s office, Amethyst’s studio, and her gym) and she is in no mood.

Her shift had passed quickly enough, but she’d come on mid-afternoon - bang on time, but still an unwelcome interruption to her day. She feels tired and wrung-out, she has a headache, and the rising volume and venom of her girlfriends’ fight is stomping on her last nerve.

“How can you say that?” squawks Pearl. “She’s the one being snappy with me!”

“You wanna see snappy?” rounds Amethyst. “How ‘bout you look in the mirror?”

“You two, stop bickering,” Garnet hisses. Her headache is getting worse. Pearl pouts indignantly, while Amethyst throws up her hands in despair.

“She started it!”

“I did not! We wouldn’t have been arguing if you weren’t being so childish, and - “

“Childish? Oh-ho, that’s rich, coming from - “

“Stop it,” growls Garnet, sitting down on the couch, massaging her temples. She catches Pearl glance over, concerned.

“...Garnet?” she asks. Amethyst’s set-jaw frown melts as she raises an eyebrow at their girlfriend.

“G, you’re not lookin’ so hot.”

“Amethyst,” Pearl chides softy, but her brow is wrinkled as she looks Garnet over, stepping closer. “She is right though. You don’t look well, darling.”

“M’fine,” grunts Garnet. “It’s just... that time of the month.”

Pearl sighs as comprehension dawns. Amethyst grimaces, then blinks.

“Oh, snap. I got mine this morning.” She looks at Pearl with wide eyes. “And you’re due any day, too.”

“Amethyst, do you - have you been tracking my cycle?” Pearl squeaks, mortified.

“We're dating. We've known each other forever. And we live together. Not like it’s hard. Plus I didn’t mean to, it’s just - helpful to know when you’re gonna be all crampy and cryin’, and when Garnet’s gonna get them killer headaches.” She crouches down, rests an apologetic hand on Garnet’s knee. “Sorry for tweakin’ your head with all the racket, babe. What can I getcha?”

“I... “ Garnet closes her eyes against the bright light of their lounge, the stimulation lancing through her head. “I’m gonna lie down.”

“Do you want to be alone?” Pearl asks, eyes wide. She looks guilty, and a little teary, and Garnet realises Amethyst’s math is accurate: no wonder the two of them have been arguing so much. She shakes her head no.

“You guys can lay with me if you promise not to fight.”

Her girlfriends glance at one another. Amethyst straightens up, holds out a pudgy hand with an abashed sidelong look at the taller woman.

“I’m sorry,” she mumbles. Pearl squeezes the proffered hand and gives her a penitent peck on the forehead.

“I’m sorry too. I got stressed out and I didn’t realise we were all... um. You know. Not feeling our best.”

Amethyst laughs. “You can just say we all got mad PMS. Not against the law.”

Pearl blushes crimson as Garnet lifts her gaze to Amethyst, screwing up her eyes against the light even behind her prescription lenses.

“Pearl finds these topics more difficult than you or I. We need to respect that.”

“Got it,” sighs Amethyst, then brightens up. “We can make a PMS nest!”

“A... what?” Pearl blinks.

“Y’know. Get into PJs, or whatever’s comfy, get all our snacks and junk together and just hunker down in one big hormonal pile together.”

“I’ve never heard of such a thing,” Pearl stumbles.

“I used to do it all the time before I lived with you guys - if I was on, or about to be, and feelin' shitty, I’d make a li’l nest for myself. Now there’s three of us, it’ll be even better,” Amethyst beams. “Okay, you guys go get cosy, I know what we need. Gimme like... ten minutes.”

Garnet groans as she stands. Amethyst rubs her shoulder as Pearl clucks sympathetically.

“First step to a badass PMS nest: get G some pain pills.”

Pearl obligingly goes to find their ibuprofen as Garnet changes from her work gear into sports bra and boyshorts. The medicine is delivered with a cool glass of water and Garnet swallows both down with a sigh, wincing at the sound of Amethyst clattering about the kitchen outside the door of her darkened room.

“Is it so bad already?” Pearl asks, worried. Garnet chuckles, sitting down on the bed.

“Bad, but not the worst - headache, not a migraine. I’ll live." She raises an eyebrow at Pearl. "How are you holding up?”

“I don’t know what you mean,” Pearl tells her, perching beside her - but Garnet isn’t fooled. She’d noticed the stiffness to Pearl's usually graceful movements when she’d picked her up earlier. Now, her dancer’s deportment has all but evaporated: she's sat with shoulders curling in on herself, and a slight pallor to her cheeks.

“Pearl, I know you - you’re not feeling well. Maybe you should take some medicine, too.”

Pearl sighs. “You know I can’t swallow pills.”

“Could you try?” Garnet asks, slipping an arm around her.

Pearl shakes her head. “I’ll just gag. And that’ll make it hurt more.” She gives up the pretence, both hands on her flat stomach as she doubles over with a groan. “Why does my body hate me?”

“Oh, love,” Garnet says, soothingly. “Least we can all feel sorry for ourselves together. You’ve taken care of me - what do you need, Pearl?”

Pearl looks up, betraying herself with a glance back to the bed. “Didn’t you want to lay down?”

“We’re gonna. Not til you’re comfy, though.” She helps Pearl sit up, tweaking the ribbon at Pearl’s high collar. “Go get changed.”

Pearl trails off, one hand rubbing her tummy. Garnet basks in the dark and silence until Amethyst enters the room a few moments later, having changed into a tank and boxers. The purple-haired woman is laden down with a piled-high tray, trailing an electrical cable behind her, the corner a bag of chips held between her teeth.

“‘Ank ‘oo,” she manages as Garnet takes the tray from her and sets it down on the table. She releases the chips, and begins sorting through the array.

“Okay, I brought a bunch of snacks - we got chocolate, chips, cookies, and I brought a couple of bits of fruit for you guys. There’s juice for you, green tea for P, root beer for me - oh, and I brought you Pearl’s cold compress; should help if you put it on your head, or neck, or whatever. She doesn’t have practice tomorrow so she won’t need it today.” Amethyst glances around. “Where is our li’l stringbean?”

“Changing,” Garnet tells her, as she takes the compress, pressing it against her pounding head. “She’s hurting, too. Stomach cramps.”

“Figured,” Amethyst sighs, “she gets so moody when she’s tryn’a hide it. I got her the heating pad, I’mma plug it in now so it’s toasty when she gets back.”

“How is your back?” Garnet asks, catching the flicker of pain across her girlfriend’s face as she sits down. Amethyst shrugs.

“Hurts - like, right down my ass and my legs too. Took a Midol before. I can share the heat pack with P, though.”

“I’ll give you a back rub once my head eases up,” Garnet offers. Amethyst gives her a grateful kiss on the cheek.

“You’re the best. Well, you two are the best.”

“Why can’t you ever say nice things like that to my face?” complains Pearl, coming back into the room wearing old, faded leggings and an oversized t-shirt bearing the legend of some wrestler - one of Amethyst’s, from ages back. Amethyst pats the bed and Pearl sinks gratefully into the mattress, face down.

“I’ll work on it. How’re you doin’, babe?”

“I _just_ started,” Pearl answers, miserably, clutching her belly. “And it hurts.”

Amethyst passes her the heating pad, tapping the buttons to bring it to the highest heat. Pearl reaches out for it immediately, folding it round her sore stomach and as far across her back as it’ll reach. Garnet reaches down to stroke Pearl’s tense shoulders.

“Give the heat pad chance to work,” she counsels, from underneath the soothing plasticky coolness of the compress. Amethyst smiles fondly at her girlfriends even as she shakes her head in disbelief at the situation.

“Jeez, the three of us are a real mess.”

“Speak for yourself,” mutters Pearl, dismally. Amethyst pets her hair as she curls tighter around the heat pack.

“You know I think you’re real cute even when you’re bleedin’ out your - “

“Amethyst,” Garnet warns, softly, “don’t be crude.”

“Right,” Amethyst says, wincing as she places a hand to her lower back, fingers of pain pinching around her coccyx. Garnet sits back against the pillows, tipping her head back so the compress balances over her brow, as she open her arms to the other two.

“Get in here.”

Amethyst drops the chips on the nightstand with the rest of their supplies, as she snuggles in against Garnet’s shoulder.

“C’mon, Pearl. You too.”

Pearl whimpers as she unfurls to scoot up the bed; considering her options before nestling in between her girlfriends, back against Garnet. Amethyst lets Pearl snuggle closer, welcoming her with a gentle squeeze, all the heat of their earlier squabbling gone.

“There’s our girl,” she murmurs. “Get in here. And... I’m real sorry about before.”

“M’sorry too,” Pearl mumbles. Amethyst kisses her brow.

“Hey, you’re like, sweating. You sure you’re alright, babe?”

Pearl gives a little nod, face pale, teeth gritted. Garnet hums sympathetically, kissing the back of Pearl’s head. They’ve been together long enough, and friends long enough before that, that each of them knows what the other two struggle with around the third week of the month.

While all three are affected to a certain extent by mood swings due to their monthly cycles, Pearl struggles the most with cramps: her girlfriends escaping with only mild stomach pangs, while she is barely able to move during the worst of it, forced to call out sick from work or dance more than once.

Garnet is more likely to be hit with a menstrual migraine, head pounding hot and nauseous, her already-sensitive eyes making all light and sound excruciating if she doesn’t catch it in time to take her medicine.

Amethyst’s wicked back cramps, meanwhile, often have her wincing through her days and tossing and turning through the nights, unable to find any comfortable position to settle in, her bad mood made far worse by the ensuring sleep deprivation.

All in, different as their experiences are, the three of them are sympathetic to each other’s discomfort. This is, however, the first time they've had to reckon with the first and worst day of their periods at the same time.

Amethyst shifts a little on the bed, pain pulsing in her hips. “Hey, guys. Do we wanna take a nap?”

Garnet nods, careful not to dislodge the compress. Pearl whines into Amethyst’s shoulder.

“Hurts too much to sleep,” she complains. Amethyst strokes Pearl's shoulder soothingly, while Garnet slides down the pillows, pulling back an arm to hold the compress in place as she curls up against Pearl. 

“You don’t have to sleep. But I think it would be good to rest, at least while you wait for the heat pack to work its magic.”

“Hmm. Will you hold me?” she implores of Garnet, glancing back over her shoulder.

“‘Course I will,” smiles the tallest of the triad. Pearl hums, satisfies, as she opens her eyes to look at Amethyst.

“I can spoon you, too. The heat will feel good on your back.”

“You have the best ideas,” says Amethyst, turning over, shuffling back against Pearl so the heat pack is between her back and her girlfriend’s stomach. She sighs with relief at the welcome warmth as Garnet wraps her arm around both her girlfriends, reaching carefully over Pearl to find Amethyst on the redhead’s other side.

“Comfy?” she murmurs, a few moments later, adjusting the cold pack between her head, her elbow and the pillows. Amethyst gives a sigh of contentment.

“Best PMS nest ever. We gotta do this every month.”

“Not complaining,” Garnet returns. “You okay down there, Pearl?”

Pearl gives a drowsy little murmur. Her girlfriends chuckle, as Amethyst reaches back to pull Pearl’s toned arm around her.

“I love you,” she whispers, kissing Pearl’s knuckles, then Garnet’s.

“I love you too,” Garnet yawns. The medicine is starting to work, pulses of pain becoming less sharp and frequent.

Pearl murmurs something into Amethyst’s hair that sounds like “lufft’oo”. Amethyst laughs, then winces.

“Ow,” she grumbles. “Why do periods gotta suck so hard?”

“I gotcha,” Garnet whispers, stroking a few tendrils of hair back from Amethyst’s cheek.

“We got your back too, G,” Amethyst returns, squeezing Garnet’s wide hand.

“Oh, I know. My two beautiful girls are looking out for me, and I them,” Garnet sighs, closing her eyes. “Now let’s get some rest.”

Amethyst obligingly closes her eyes, feeling safe and held, letting the warmth of the heat pack soothe the grinding pain in her back as well as Pearl’s cramping belly. Garnet settles down, holding her girlfriends, the combined effects of the meds and the compress dulling her aching head as the comforting closeness of the women she loves helps soothe her into a doze.

_Being synchronised isn't so bad_ , she thinks, as she hovers at the brink of sleep, _as long as we look out for one another._


End file.
